Yellow in Horror – The Conjuring Films’ Use of Color

Chapter 4

When I was rewatching the Conjuring movies ahead of Last Rites, I noticed something I hadn’t before. Yellow and red. From the opening credits of the first film to the bright yellow taxicab in the fourth, yellow especially stood out. These colors are more prevalent in the second and fourth films, but the colors are used in home decor, lighting, and even in the eyes of the demons Ed and Lorraine hope to exorcize from the objects they possess.

In the second film, the London home of the Hodgson family is intentionally decorated to give it a dilapidated look. The walls are yellowed and stained. The furniture is heavily used. The toys look secondhand. A tent made of yellow sheets occupies the end of one hallway. A yellow blanket covers Janet’s bed when she isn’t sleeping in it, a cautionary color. The lighting is sometimes daylight filtering in through the windows, but also dimly lit incandescent light bulbs that give off an eerie yellow glow. This sets the stage for the scary events that take place there.

In contrast, the home of Ed and Lorraine is brightly lit. The kitchen walls are covered in happy yellow striped wallpaper. This is their place of togetherness. The room where they wish each other good morning and share meals. Even their museum room of possessed artifacts has an heir of superiority to it, like it thinks the fake wood paneling popular during the 70s was the perfect setting to house Annebelle and all her evil friends. The hallway that Lorraine sees the evil demon Valek down is ivory, almost yellow in the right lighting, with happy pink and red flowers decorating the wallpaper. Valek looks all the more menacing in such a pretty place, and it only adds to Lorraine’s fear that this demon will be the one to kill Ed.

To contrast with the yellows and browns in each home, Janet’s pajamas are made of bright red velvet. The color of blood. It is a memorable piece of clothing; one used in the marketing of the film. As Janet and her family descend into a state of constant fear, the pajamas scream loudly in the dingy home.

During a day home from school, Janet is watching television. It keeps switching channels but she is not the one changing it. As she begins to fear she is not alone in the house, the phone rings. And its yellow. A plastic yellow phone with a coiled yellow cord, common in the 80s. She answers it with trepidation as if that yellow phone has a warning for her. In that moment, it doesn’t, but it doesn’t make her feel any better either.

The same type of phone was used in Last Rites. Same yellow. Same coiled cord. This one is attached to a wall in the kitchen of the Smurl family in Pennsylvania. Here, though, the phone is used a prop for fear. While the mother talks on it whilst moving about the kitchen, something keeps pulling on the cord until it eventually is pulled from her hand and lands in the darkness of the pantry. She assumes it was one of the kids until both of her youngest daughters run through the other room. Her fear is palpable in this scene thanks to that yellow phone moving on its own accord.

The filmmakers employ the same juxtaposition between the Warrens’ home and the Smurls as they did in the second film. The Warrens’ home is a safe space. Sunshine and bright wallpaper. The Smurls’ home is crowded and often dimly lit with incandescent lights. They seem happy enough, at least until the possessed mirror arrives in their home and their lives descend into a state of constant paranormal activity. One of the girl’s dolls even wears a red dress reminiscent of Janet’s from the second film as if demons are drawn to the color. To its anger.

In this film, a bright yellow taxi brings Father Gordon to the doorstep of the Smurls. His attempt to lure Ed and Lorraine back into the fray was unsuccessful so he is going in alone. To his own detriment. And that happy yellow cab that delivers him does nothing to keep him safe from the demons he encounters. That cab was a warning. A cautionary tale to not go into dangerous situations you know too little about.

One thing many of these demons have in common is their eyes. Their faces are white and grey, but their eyes are almost always a bright lurid yellow. The color of mucus. Of neon shaded infection and rot. Nothing good is behind those eyes.

The Conjuring Universe as a whole utilizes candlelight to give scenes an eerie tone. The shadows dancing with the dim yellow light given off by a tiny flame. One of the best scares in the first film was that clap clap that caused Carolyn Perron to drop the lit match she was holding before she began to pound on the door for someone to let her out.

These films are perfect examples of how the use of color, however subtle or blatant, can affect both the setting and the tone of a scene. The filmmakers knew what they were doing, and I’m glad these films exist.